State should save land bank

The S.C. Conservation Bank is teetering on the brink of extinction but could survive thanks to a bill approved last week by a House subcommittee.

Otherwise a sunset provision in the current enabling legislation would end the Conservation Bank in 2013.

The Conservation Bank was created in 2002 and works with private landowners and outside groups to purchase easements on select acreage. The land deals ensure the acreage will not be developed, even if property changes hands. The Conservation Bank has two staff members and operates under the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

But the Conservation Bank has been on veritable life support in recent state budgets because of a “kill switch” provision that seizes all of its documentary stamp revenue if funding for other state agencies is cut. That has happened in recent years but lawmakers have kept the bank alive with emergency funding.

Conservation Bank Executive Director Marvin Davant said South Carolina ranks 40th among the 50 states in size but is 10th in the rate of conversion of land from rural to urban. He said the state’s quality of life must be preserved alongside its growing population density.

“The need to voluntarily conserve our significant land and iconic places that brings these people here in the first place to give them somewhere to go and something to do… so that they will continue to come here and build businesses is even more important now,” he said.

We take Davant’s point, even if we question the wisdom of an ongoing reliance on a tourism-based economy. One of South Carolina’s enduring assets is its natural and rural landscapes. It’s one of the reasons people visit and, often, retire here.

Land conservation may seem like a luxury in the current recession, but for better or worse tourism drives our economy — especially in the Lowcountry.

Funding the Conservation Bank is an investment in our economy as well as our future.

Comments are welcome, so long as they are civil. A Facebook account is required. Abuse may result in the commenter being permanently blocked. Personal attacks are strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to remove any comments at any time.